Gnawing At The Roots Of The World
by Destroyer Of Skulls
Summary: In the mind of Chieftain Zeshulk Skullreaper of Clan Mors, he shouldn't be stuck in some backwater part of the Southlands, and should instead be out proving his superiority to his rivals and gaining ever more glory. But an object found near Yuatek may just be his chance to prove himself as the greatest Skaven in all of the Under-Empire... Well, if he's still there that is.
1. Prologue

Before we get into this people, i just want to say something. If you came here looking for a story with a great hero fighting against darkness in the name of light and justice, than you are looking in the wrong place. This is a fic centered around the Skaven after all. I was inspired to make this story due to the lack of Warhammer Fantasy and LOTR crossovers, specifically those involving the children of the Horned Rat. Such a thing cannot be tolerated. Perhaps the Skaven might not blow up the moon this time for some reason beyond anyone's comprehension.

When making this part of the story, i questioned whether or not to go for either the Elder Scrolls or Lord Of The Rings o go with in a crossover. Eventually my mind settled on LOTR, mainly because another guy is doing a great crossover story between Warhammer Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls, and i don't want to make it come across that i'm just riding upon it's success so far, despite me stating my love for it. If anyone has anything that they don't like about it, i would prefer if it was stated to me via a private message. And finally, if anyone ever wants to get involved in the story and try a collaboration, i'd be completely fine with that as it might make things a bit easier for me.

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The Old World 2513 IC

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"Ratmen aren't real, it's foolish to believe in such crazed nonsense."

This is a line which has been repeated more times than one can count by the many inhabitants of the Old World. For thousands of years people across it have said this in response to supposed rumors and sightings of Ratmen. The Cult Of Sigmar have even gone so far as to denounce any who persist with these rumors as heretics and have had them killed for it. Libraries have been scoured and have had many books and tomes burned containing references to Ratmen, with few pieces remaining involving such things. One of them being 'The Doom Of Kavzar', a story detailing the destruction of a Dwarven and Human city involving rats. And so people across the Old World believe Ratmen to be a myth.

They're all wrong of course.

Lying far beneath the surface of the world are indeed such a species. Ratmen, Ratkin, Children of the Horned Rat, call them what you will. But they ultimately call themselves the Skaven, the rulers of the Under-Empire. A massive civilization that spreads from Naggaroth to Cathay and from the Southlands to the Chaos Wastes. There are few places the vermin of managed to lay their paws upon. This story in particular involves this threat to inhabitants people of the Old World and beyond, as they travel from one world to another one to gnaw upon it's own roots.

Our story begins in the Southlands within the Skaven stronghold of Yuatek, a fortress of Clan Mors. And within it, a Skaven Chieftain was overlooking his servants at work. This Skaven Chieftain in particular is known as Zeshulk Skullreaper, named so for his tendencies to take the severed heads of his enemies as trophies. It has been widely rumored among his minions that he does so in emulation of Queek Headtaker. And if he happens to be within earshot... Well, they quickly learn that he does not take kindly to such a suggestion, and responds with a rather 'excessive' response to being deemed an inferior version of Queek.

He stood at five feet tall, with coal black fur and like all Skaven possessed red eyes. He was covered from head to toe in the signature red armor of the Stormvermin, a possible reference to his past as one. And covering his back are spikes mounting the heads of many species, taken as trophies to serve as proof of his might. Right now he was overseeing the work of Skryre rats on... Something that was found in this place due to the excavations of a Warp-Grinder. A waste of time in his vaunted opinion. He gnashed his teeth together, in his mind he should be out fighting and gaining ever more glory, and proving his genius and not to mention superiority to Queek, not stuck here in the middle of nowhere doing absolutely nothing.

All that he knows is that he was supposed to make sure that nothing went wrong, and despite his disapproval at being put in such a position, he had no desire to risk the wrath of Lord Gnawdwell, so he ultimately had no choice. Right now he was stationed high on a platform, separated from the rest of the room by several feet of metal. No need to risk his whiskers after all. Just below the platform were Warlock Engineers whom had dug themselves trenches to watch bravely as the Slaves continued to dig and risk their lives for the glory of Clan Mors. And for the glory of the great Zeshulk, of course.

So until he had been deemed of completing his task, he had no choice but to stay in Yuatek, with nothing to do besides ordering slaves brought to him to torture and kill at his leisure. And each time one of them expired he thought at the possibility of whatever was uncovered here bringing forth something to courageously fight against and kill via an excessive amount of Ratling Gunners and Warpfire Throwers, with him to claim the head of upon it's death as another magnificent trophy for his collection. Although it was clear that it wouldn't happen. At one point he had thought of heading to wherever the forces hired from each of the four Great Clans were, thinking that they might in some way manage entertain him. He thought about spending time with the breeders, but even that would not satisfy him after awhile.

Perhaps hitting the slaves enough might make them remember that his talents are wasted here, and work faster to rectify such a mistake. Upon the thought of it he looked upon the artifact that was found. It is a stone structure that is circular in shape, with a large number of steps leading up to the center of it. At the sides of the platform in the center of it are four inward curving pillars positioned in an x formation. And the end of each pillar is carved in the shape of a Carnosaurs head, a trophy that he was disappointingly unable to mount as a trophy. And the Horned Rat knows he's not going to try to do that again. Surrounding it is a large number of Clan Skryre machinery, with large amounts of warpstone hooked up to each one. He presumed that it would allow them to draw power into and from whatever this thing is.

He taped his left pauldron with the claws of his right hand, while his right foot taped the ground. Even the torturing and killing of slaves was not enough to satisfy him now. Several minutes passed by and boredom grew into anger. He yelled out "WORK QUICK-FASTER SLAVE SCUM!" And so they did. A minute later his boredom finally go to him and he gone down through the door at the back of the room to teach the vermin the folly of not performing well, and to remind the the Skryre rats that a bored Zeshulk is a dangerous Zeshulk, with the possibility of continuing to do nothing overriding survival instinct. When he arrived down there he saw a Warlock Engineer slowly walking up to him, likely afraid. In his mind, this is good. They should be afraid of him.

The Skryre rat said "Great-mighty one, we are progressing as planned. Despite the slow-slow speed of the slave scum, we should be done soon. All that you need do is wait-wa-" He didn't finish that sentence, as Zeshulk backhanded him with his right hand and sent him flying several feet. He was done waiting. At the sight the slaves increased their speed. Zeshulk merely narrowed his eyes at them. Perhaps hitting them over the head enough times would motivate them to work fast enough so that their glorious leader would not grow to become bored because of the laziness so easily. The other Warlock Engineers started to scatter away from him, in hopes of avoiding being the subject of his wrath. The slaves did the same, with the Musk Of Fear heavy in the air.

He screamed at them for this affront, how dare they stop their work, simply because they saw a worthless tinker rat be backhanded. Without even grabbing a weapon he chased after the nearest Skaven in the vicinity, the same Warlock Engineer who tried to confront him whom was now scurrying away from him as fast as possible. Five seconds later they were near one of the machines the Skryre rats had set up. The Warlock Engineer was rammed into by Zeshulk, and felt himself land on something long, thin, and hard. Immediately afterwards the sound of warp lightning could be heard crackling, but Zeshulk payed no attention to this.

He grabbed the Skryre rat by the tail and started to drag the Warlock Engineer towards him while the Skryre rat tried to grab onto something to hold onto. A few moments later Zeshulk was about to tear out the Warlock Engineers throat with his fangs, but was interrupted by something knocking him away. He yelled out "WHO DARES!?" What he saw next provided him with the answer to his question. He saw the various devices constructed shooting warp lightning into the pillars, which in turn shot blue electricity into what appeared to be a large black sphere positioned in-between the pillars.

This sphere had blue electricity coming off of it, and with every moment it became more powerful and violent. He knew just by looking at that whatever this was clearly had no head for him to take. But aside from that, it reminded him of the Purple Sun Of Xereus spell casted by magic users of the various races covering the worlds surface whom specialized in manipulating the purple winds of Shyish, the Lore Of Death. And moments later wind started to blow in the direction of the sphere, and his survival instincts kicked in and he ran in the direction of the exit, as did every other Skaven in the room.

Two seconds later than winds become stronger and the sphere started to grow, forcing Zeshulk to dig his claws into the floor and began to crawl towards the exit, with Zeshulk and every Skaven in the room exuding the Musk Of Fear. Three seconds later the wind became stronger, and every other Skaven in the room had been sucked into the sphere as it grew larger. Five seconds later he was a few feet away from the exit, but his claws gave away and were removed from the ground. He then let out a terrified scream as he was sucked into the sphere, which then grew to consume all of Yuatek and then disappeared, leaving Yuatek empty and silent.

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End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1 The Nightmare Begins

The first thing that Zeshulk felt when entering the sphere was nothing less than absolute terror. For all of his boasts and pride, he was still a Skaven who can squirt the musk of fear. All that he saw around him was darkness, is this what it is like to be dead? He couldn't tell. He couldn't hear the horrifying laughter of the Horned Rat, nor can Zeshulk feel his teeth gnawing upon his flesh, nor smell any musk of fear aside from his own. He felt nothing... Well, aside from the smell of urine and a feeling of wetness coming from the area in-between his legs anyway. After several minutes of cowering and crawling up into a ball he felt a feeling of warmth upon the right side of his head. It felt like sunlight, something that he is not particularly familiar with but has felt before, much to his eyesight's irritation.

His right eye then opened, and far away from him, somewhere within the darkness, he saw a light shinning upon his fur. It seemed so small and yet also seemed to light up so much. He didn't know what was happening, and he started screaming, yelling out to the Horned Rat and begging to be sparred from whatever possibly awaited him. Eventually the light became larger and larger, until it seemed to be larger than even an entire Under-City. And all the while he clawed toward he opposite direction as if attempting to get away from it, his screaming becoming louder and higher pitched. Noticeably much like that of a little girl if a human were to ever hear it. Soon the light consumed him, and both of his eyes closed shut tightly, and he curled back up into a ball and acted as if opening his eyes would blind him.

After a few moments the light faded away, and he opened his eyes. And he saw that he appeared to be high up in the air, very high up in fact. Higher than even a Hell-Pit Abomination could reach. He screamed "PUT ME DOWN-DOWN! I DON'T-DON'T LIKE HIGH PLACES!" The moment after he said that he started falling downwards, leaving him flailing and clawing upwards and while he would likely not admit it, he most likely immediately regretted his previous choice of words. He then screamed "LET ME BACK UP-UP! I DON'T-DON'T LIKE FALLING!" If reality was conscious and sentient, it would probably be rolling it's eyes at him whilst saying "Well, what do you want me to do? Make up your damn mind already." After several second of screaming he felt a cold feeling of wetness all around him.

He quickly realized that he was in water. He had seen many bodies of water before, from the Great Ocean which separated the Old World, Lustria, Naggaroth, and Ulthuan from each other, to the Sea Of Claws which separated Norsca and The Empire and Bretonnia, to the Sea Of Chaos which separated Norsca from the Chaos Wastes, to many others across the world. Moments after he landed in the water, he started flailing around. Armor, contrary to popular belief, is not that heavy. There are people who exercise and swim in it, whether it be as a form of exercise, to prove people wrong about it being as heavy as they think, or for some other reason. And although a person can swim in it, with some difficulty due to it's restriction of movement, flailing around like an idiot does not help ones situation whenever in a body of water.

In Zeshulk's mind, he would be enraged beyond belief if he were to be brought low by mere water. Soon he became too tired to move anymore, and when he stopped he looked around and realized something. In his retardedness he had failed to realize that he had been brought close to the shore by the waters flow. Right now he was only waist high in water and was standing on the ground at the bottom of it. He held his snout high and let out a proud "Hmph" Convinced that when faced by the situation, he had opted for the best course of action and that it was only natural that one as great as he could have thought up of such a genius idea. As if. When he reached the shores sand he shook himself heavily, shaking off some of the water the covered his fur and armor.

And while he didn't notice it, the water had washed off much of the filth that covered his fur and armor. He looked back and saw that he wasn't in an ocean, but a river, a rather large one at that, with a few trees dotting the area around it. The concerning thing as that it the trees near it clearly weren't jungle trees, they were ones that could be found in places such as The Empire and Bretonnia. So wherever he is, he definitely isn't in the Southlands or somehow got transported into Lustria. As far as he was concerned, this situation isn't his fault. After all, it was the Skryre Rats fault for not letting him kill them and for making such shoddy constructions, ad the Slave Rats fault as well for not digging fast enough which caused this in the first place.

He then began thinking up ways to torture the slaves for causing this mess and to serve as an example to others as to what happens whenever he is annoyed somehow by his underlings... Or just bored. He looked along the shore and saw no other Skaven in sight. They should feel lucky that he is not with them, or he would be gouging their eyes out. Seeing no other option he decided to move into the into the fields surrounding the river, hoping that he would find a Skaven Outpost, and seeing as how the Under-Empire stretches across the entire world, he was sure that he would find one eventually. And even if it didn't belong to Clan Mors, whatever Skaven there would surely think twice before daring to strike at a high ranking member of one of the most powerful Clans of the Council Of thirteen.

An hour had passed and throughout it his annoyance and been steadily increasing, partly due to having a lack of thing to abuse and prove his superiority over, and also because he couldn't even find hose thing to abuse in the first place. And hen there's his complete lack of a weapon. He lacks tearing a creature apart with his claws and fangs as much as any other Skaven, but he also enjoys having a weapon to stab those very creatures with. Eventually he heard what sounded like arguing. Skaven arguing of all things. The voice pitch and repeating of certain words made this obvious. Thirty seconds later of running in their direction, finally relieved to have something around him that he could hit, at his leisure, he saw them. A large group of Skaven, they were difficult to make out due to the tall grass slightly obscuring his view, but they are clearly Skaven.

He heard them arguing about who to place in charge, to rule over them as their leader. His anger rose at their impudence. He is Zeshulk Skullreaper, the greatest Skaven in all of Skavendom. Clearly, no Skaven is greater than he. And these fools in all of their stupidity had dared to challenge this truth. Clearly they need to be reminded of it. Whilst mere feet away from them he bursted into a part of the grass shorter than the rest and let out a yell, caring not if any other nearby creature heard it. This caught the vermin's attention. He then yelled at them "IMPUDENT FOOLS-FOOLS! YOU DARE ASSUME TO BE SUPERIOR TO THE GREAT-MIGHTY ZESHULK SKULLREAPER!?" The Skaven started cowering, lowering their snouts and squirting the musk of fear among other signs of submission.

One of them said "Please forgive us, oh grand-mighty Chie-" He backhanded the Clan Rat who said that for daring to speak without being given permission, knocking the vermin away a few feet. He let out a snarl, annoyed that these worthless minions are all that he has at the moment. There appears to only be twenty-five of them, all Clan Rats. Zeshulk then realized something, this is clearly the Horned Rat giving him a chance to show his greatness by finding the scattered Skaven groups and subjugating them under his rule. The Horned Rat had seen his greatness and deigned to transport him away from the foolish tasks given to him by his superiors and given him a chance to spread the greatness of Clan Mors, and strengthen the Great Clan in power and influence. He then stood at his full height to make himself appear more intimidating.

This is uncomfortable seeing as how most of the time he is hunched over, but he was not afraid of such a trivial thing. He then said "Vermin, hear me now-now and listen. We shall spread-spread throughout this land, and spread Clan Mors, and make it greater-mightier than before. FIND-FIND OTHER VERMIN TO RULE-RULE! GROW GREAT IN NUMBERS! AND DOMINATE ALL-ALL THE THINGS! CLAN MORS DOMINATES ALL!" They remained silent. He then narrowed his eyes at their incapability of taking a hint and said "You all-all may cheer-cheer now." They let out a loud howl, but whether it is out of fear of what would happen if they didn't or approval at his patriotic attitude is up for debate. He then looked all across the land around him. He didn't know where he is, but wherever it is he is certain that Clan Mors has not reached it. He thinks anyway.

This is mainly due to him not recognizing the fields that he is in. Perhaps he is in Bretonnia? Clan Mors lacks any strongholds in it, let alone a significant one. If he were to establish one here, and provide a convincing explanation as for why he was away from Yuatek, than perhaps Gnawdwell would be able to overlook him being away from where he was sent and reward him for his success. Zeshulk smiled. Perhaps then Gnawdwell would have him fight against Queek Headtaker so that he can prove his might. Somewhere, deep down in the dark depths of his mind, a thought appeared. Perhaps, afterwards an even higher position than merely being the personal right-claw of Gnawdwell awaits him. His mind filled with thoughts of gaining ever more glory, and while getting such a position will certainly take awhile, he's already determined to gain it.

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End Chapter


	3. Chapter 2 Services Of Clan Eshin

The few hours after finding the first group of Skaven was spent exploring on a search to find any other existing Skaven. He found a few Skryre rats, a couple Eshin Assassins, a few Moulder Packmasters, and even the odd occasional Plague Monk. The first thing he did when finding a member of any of the four Great Clans was too assert his authority over them, lest the teachings of their Clans grow rapidly and unchecked via future runts. And then there's the matter of that, the Breeders. He was starting to become concerned about the matter involving them. Worried? No, they are mere Breeders and are far below him in value. And since when did a Skaven ever care about another Skaven, let alone a mere Breeder?

But despite that, even he could realize that he could not pleasure himself with other male Skaven. Since when does one of his position and authority do that? Securing them to grow their numbers and spread? Yes that's indeed important. But still... Right now he is sitting on a pile of still living Slave Rats as a makeshift throne with his entire army in front of him, as one such as him should have a throne ready for him whenever he is tired. He thought long and hard about the situation involving the lack of breeders, occasionally kicking and stomping the Skaven under him to shut them up when they were making to much noise. Sometimes for no reason at all other than to amuse himself. After a long time in thought he came to a conclusion on what to do. He yelled out "ESHIN RATS!"

Thirty seconds later, thirty seconds too long in his eyes, thirty members of Clan Eshin stood before him. five Assassins, ten Gutter Runners, and fifteen Night Runners. He snorted at the sight of this being all that remains of the 'mighty' Clan Eshin. One steped forward and said "You called-called us great-mighty Zeshulk Skullreaper?" Zeshulk narrowed his eyes and said "That's what i just said-said, fool." He then stood up to his full height to make himself appear more intimidating. Whilst appearing to ignoring the grunts and squeals of the Slave Rats he is standing on, he made a mental note to whack them later for daring to make sounds whilst he is standing on them without his permission. He said "Go find-seek Breeders, and you shall be rewarded." One of Eshin Rats said "How much will you pay-pay us, great-powerful one?"

Zeshulk thought hard about that, he probably had a few warpstone tokens with him, but he knew that he didn't have enough to pay all of these insolent rats. And although he had the urge to butcher them at the mere suggestion of him granting them anything less than his favor, he knew he needed their skills for this matter. Besides, having him appear to to put so much effort into finding something as mere Breeders would make him look weak, especially if he were to fail. Although he knew that him with all his intelligence would quickly deduce their location. After awhile an idea came to his mind and he said "My favor will-will be granted to those who take this task-mission, along with warpstone tokens that i have-have." They didn't looked impressed. Although, who knew with their faces being hidden.

What he said next however sealed the deal "The rat who finds-gains the most may breed with one." That gained their attention. Only the greatest of Skaven such as Chieftains such as Zeshulk and the Warlords can mate with breeders, and among the Skaven populace it is viewed as one of the greatest rewards one may gain. And the rats of Clan Eshin are no exception to this mindset. They all voiced their approval, however Zeshulk couldn't understand them beyond that due to them speaking at the same time. When he sat back down they were already scurrying off, with the other Skaven there glaring at them with hate, envious that one of them might have the chance to breed while they could go their entire lives unable to mate even once.

Zeshulk meanwhile was fuming with rage that he had to resort to such a method, and having to, Horned Rat forgive him for even thinking such a word, _share_ an obvious future harem infuriated him, especially with Skaven whom aren't even from the same clan. He wanted to tear something to pieces to such an extent that even one of hose Elf-things couldn't see the remains oh so very much at the moment. He then remembered that mental note from before, and started stomping down on the Slaves beneath him, partly to let loose some frustration and partly to punish them for making noises without his permission. And that's something that he will certainly be doing for quite awhile.

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While Zeshulk was busy beating the crap out of his Slave throne, the Eshin Rats were scouring the surrounding area for the Breeders, each determined to find the most. The problem is that there is so much territory to cover, and night is fast approaching and they are not eager to find out what creatures go bump in the night in this land. One of them in particular was going further than the rest, this one being the Gutter Runner Krozkrel Shadowstalker. He had no doubt that the other Eshin Rats were all fools, they were too close together and when a Breeder is inevitably found fighting would occur, something that he is not at all eager to take part in with such low odds of survival. Perhaps he might even find a Breeder himself which he can then sneak past the others and take all of the glory for himself as is proper.

For a long time he searched far and wide, and not one of those damn Breeders could be found. Eventually the sun started to set, and he saw in the distance a large gathering of trees. He wasn't eager to find out what could be in their, but at the same time he was terrified at the idea of returning to Zeshulk empty handed. After a few moments of consideration for both he settled on taking his chances with the trees, at least he THINKS something might kill him in there rather than returning with nothing and knowing that someone WILL kill him. By the time he entered it was already sundown, and he searched for an hour and found nothing but a few small animals that served as a quick snack. He was about to give up and search somewhere else when he heard what sounded like a combination of growling and moaning.

It was coming from over a small hill in the same forest that he was in, and if what he thinks is on the other side than this will all be worth it. When he got to the top he saw only trees, and so he began to walk forward, trying to follow the sound to it's source. The growling in particular became louder, and with it the sounds of crunching leaves and snapping twigs and was coming in his direction. Having not enough time to determine the source he did the first thing that came to mind, climb. It was only when ho got twelve feet off the ground that he finally saw what the growling was coming from. A Troll... Is it a Troll? He has seen Trolls before, and this doesn't look like one. It doesn't have any tusks, and the mouth is all wrong. And it doesn't even have those large pointed ears, and instead merely had holes in their place.

Perhaps it's a kind that he hasn't encountered before? He has heard of River Trolls and Stone Trolls, and judging from the grey skin he would have just assumed it to be a Stone Troll, were it not for it's skin not being as rocky as he had heard. His instincts are telling him to flee a fast as he can, and yet his mind is telling him to shank it's head at the best opportunity. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place, on one paw he might be killed and eaten by a Troll, but on the other paw he might be tortured, killed, and eaten by Zeshulk. By the time the Troll reached the tree he was in he was twenty-feet up in the tree. A rather frightening experience to say the least, since the Troll in question is merely five feet below him. He then looked in the direction that the Troll was heading in and saw it's target and his prize. A Breeder.

Like any other Breeder it was massive in size and larger than any Skaven, and was around the size of the Troll in fact. And while it's body was fat and bloated, it's limbs appeared to be bony and emaciated, and is unable to form any words and is only able to make unintelligible sounds. The Breeder in all it's stupidity attracted the Troll to it's location via it's noises, and he realized that in order to retrieve it he was going to have to kill this thing. He then looked at what he had on hand, two daggers covered in warpstone dust, a few smoke bombs, a few regular bombs, several throwing daggers, and several vials filled with liquid or gas poison. A perfect set of equipment for assassination and infiltration alongside his black clothing, mask, and cloak. However, taking down a Troll all by himself is a bit above his own caliber.

He was thinking about how to go about this when the branch he was on began to snap under his weight. He quickly realized what was happening and could only give a face that said _"Oh, shit."_ before the branch snapped off and he suddenly fell down... And directly onto the Troll's head. Behind his mask Krozkrel gave an awkward smile. Sometimes he swore that his kind are the comic relief of the world, as is being demonstrated right now. Even the Troll seemed to be slightly amused. Before the Troll could strike him, Krozkrel jumped off of it's head and behind it whilst slashing at it's neck with his daggers. He doesn't know if the poison will effect the Troll, but he'll have to hope and keep getting more poison into it's body until it's immune system is overtaxed.

The moment after he jumped off the Troll struck at the spot that he was at, but only succeeded in hitting it's own head. When it turned around it saw that Krozkrel wasn't there anymore, and had hid himself somewhere. Enraged by this, the Troll lumbered forward and then took hold of the nearest tree and in mere moments tore it from it's roots in the ground. It then began using the tree as a weapon, striking at bushes and any places where Krozkrel could be hiding. Unknown to it, he had climbed back into the tree branches above. When the Troll had lumbered beneath him and jumped onto it and landed on it's back. He then stabbed his daggers into it's back and slid down with them still in the Trolls back whilst it was flailing and trying in vain to reach him.

The Troll then backed up into a tree to crush him but he jumped off before it happened, with the impact only worsening the pain of the wound. The moment Krozkrel landed he lit and threw a bomb at the Troll, which went off just as the Troll was about to charge which knocked it onto it's back and caused the tree to fall out of it's hands. The bomb had done significant damage to the Troll, blasting off large portions of skin on it's chest and belly and covering it with burns with parts of it's rib-cage being exposed. And the thing STILL kept going. But despite his success, it could only be attributed to the environment. If he didn't have it to his advantage, the Troll would likely have crushed him. Just as it was getting up, Krozkrel threw a throwing star towards the Troll, which managed to pierce it's left eye, blinding that eye.

The Troll then began to charge towards him, although it was clearly struggling. But it only got a few feet before collapsing onto the ground, dead. And so he threw another bomb. The combination of poison, blood loss, pain, and wounds overwhelming it. Krozkrel simply stood there, trying to process what just happened. He expected it to be tougher than... this. Yes, the environment did play to his advantage, as did the darkness which helped hid him. With his training, equipment, and opponents lack of intelligence also proving advantageous. But this is a Troll which he just killed, he expected it to be tougher than this based upon the information he knows about them. It didn't even spit acid at him or demonstrate any regenerative abilities.

But he reminded himself that he was a Skaven after-all, and a Gutter Runner of Clan Eshin at that. And thereby, no mere animal would ever best one as magnificent as him in combat. And with a carcass like this to feast upon, he shall eat well tonight. Now all there is would be to deliver his prize to lord Zeshulk, and survive any assassination attempts from envious rivals gained as a result of his success.

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End chapter


	4. Chapter 3 Of Liars And Green Stones

Whilst Krozkrel was journeying back from the place he killed the Troll he came across, Zeshulk seemed to be done kicking his living homemade throne. Major emphasis on 'seemed to be', as even when he seemed to stop he still delivered the occasional kick to either amuse himself or to continue to hammer in the price of daring to making sounds without the permission of their glorious master. And right now the Slaves that make up his throne are bleeding in multiple places with more than a few possessing several broken bones. Just as he delivered another one a Skaven walked up to Zeshulk and bowed, Zeshulk said "Speak-squeak what you wish to say-say vermin." The Skaven said "My Great-Glorious master, an Eshin-rat has returned." Zeshulk's ears went up at that.

If the Eshin-rat didn't had something good for him, than he'll be wishing he was dead. Zeshulk said "BRING FORTH THE ESHIN-RAT!" Soon therafter, an Eshin-Rat stood before him, head hung low in submission. Zeshulk said "What-what is it, lowly vermin." The Eshin rat only replied with "I have found-found a breeder my lord, still alive-breathing and ready-ready for you, great-mighty one." Zeshulk stood up and walked down his slave throne, enjoying the sounds of cracking bone and squirting blood. Whether any had died, he didn't care. They would be replaced soon enough. Zeshulk said "Bring-take me to the breeder, Eshin-rat." the Skaven replied with "Oh yes, powerful-mighty one." Before he could fully turn his head, a shuriken flew right into it and embedded itself into his left eye.

The Skaven was somehow still alive and on the ground, squirming, and clutching at his left eye. The other Skaven meanwhile cleared the way and looked at where the shuriken came from, and then saw that it came from a fellow Eshin-Rat, a Gutter Runner from the looks of it. The one who threw the shuriken yelled out "LYING SCUM!" He then looked at Zeshulk and yelled "MIGHTY-POWERFUL ONE! THIS SCUM-SCUM TRIED TO LIE-LIE TO YOU!" It's gaze then turned towards the Skaven whom was now trying to get up. He then said "Tried to deceive-trick you." whilst walking towards the Skaven. Just as the Eshin-Rat was on it's knees the Skaven stabbed it with two daggers, both piercing the lying Skavens hands and sticking him to the ground. And then, he ripped out the back of the Skavens throat with his fangs whom died moments later.

Zeshulk didn't seem to be bothered by one of the Eshin-Rats being killed, in fact he seemed to find some manner of amusement from it, and from the fact that the Eshin Rat actually thought he could deceive him. Zeshulk then stepped down with blood covered feet, and walked up to the Eshin-Rat, whom despite still being on top of the dead one seemed to be prostrating. Zeshulk said "Ha, a fool-fool such as this vermin-rat could never deceive-trick one such as I. You were not needed-required Eshin-Rat. Say-squeak your name." The Skaven said "Krozkrel Shadowstalker, mighty-great one." Zeshulk then let out a "Hmph." and said "Take me to the breeder-rat, now-now."

How exactly the Eshin-rat found out about the breeders, Krozkrel didn't know. He presumed that he must have saw Krozkrel heading away from where the others were searching, and realized that if what they did wasn't working than one as genious as the ever intelligent Krozkrel would, and so gone back to Zeshulk to report to him where the rough direction of one or more breeders would be and take all of the credit for Krozkrel's work. He just didn't take into account Krozkrel getting back so early. And that's the solution that Krozkrel managed to come up with, and is of course correct, as one such as him would easily guess the actions of such an imbecile. But it doesn't matter now, for now it is time to indulge in the glory of HIS accomplishment.

Zeshulk meanwhile was wondering what to do next. Now that the breeders are found, what lies next is to find out exactly where they are. Who knows what could be out there. Perhaps there is a village or town of sort nearby that they might be able to raid. And although whatever form of map that might be possessed by said individuals would be obviously inferior to any Skaven map, he doesn't exactly have any choice in the matter. Plus some of them might be proper warriors and give him some sport. Perhaps even a new trophy to add to his collection if they prove to be worthy of it, rather than a piece of grain for him to step on and not even a bump in the road.

And then there is the problem of warpstone. Currently they are dangerously under-supplied in it, with the only ones they have on hand being warpstone tokens and perhaps a few that the Skaven with him may be hoarding and currently have with them. Somehow. And as for Krozkrel, the Eshin-rat could be a threat, but every Skaven is in their society. Plus he'll need every vermin he can get his paws on at the moment due to his forces low numbers, compared to proper Skaven armies anyway. So for now, killing the Eshin-rat and continuing to ensure HIS dominance would have to wait. For now anyway.

* * *

Elsewhere

* * *

Whilst that was going on, several miles away were many people going about there lives. A few years back, they headed north from Rohan in an attempt to establish a settlement in the Gladden Fields between Fangorn and Lothlorien, an attempt at expanding their Kingdoms borders. And so far it has gone along poorly. Due to the nearby swamps, disease has been a longtime problem, and it has been difficult getting supplies due to the only way of getting them being by boat via the Anduin river, a problem brought about by Fangorn being too dangerous to travel through. Not only that but the occasional raid from Goblins out of Moria to the west has taken it's toll. The only source of consistent help that they had received had been from any nearby Stoors, a rather surprising thing due to them once seeing Hobbits as fairy tales.

Right now, four of them were out in the swamps trying to look for whatever fish might be found in it. Although swamps aren't generally recommended whenever searching for fish, right now whatever they find in the Anduin along with the occasional help from Stoors and getting supplies from Rohan once in awhile simply aren't helping them enough. They need whatever they can get their hands on. The four of them right now are currently traveling on rowboat, and although four would normally be enough to find fish out in bodies of water, right now finding them was proving to be incredibly difficult, and in no small part due to the rain that was happening. Currently, all that they had found were Alligators, Crocodiles, clams, crabs, and snakes.

The first two would be enough, but are too dangerous to hunt considering they weren't trained to hunt them, the last is too random and right now they couldn't even find any of those. And the other two wouldn't be enough. The clams didn't even have the courtesy to produce any pearls that they might be able to sell. How exactly the Stoors had been able to survive at all out here is far beyond them, and many ended up cursing whatever fool who decided that settling out here was anything even remotely close to a good idea. One of the four ended up looking out of the right side of the row boat and far beyond the boat he saw a small green glow within the water. He said to the others "I think i see something over to the right of us, turn the boat in that direction."

Evidently he was the only one who saw it, because the others didn't seem to think he actually saw anything. Thirty seconds later, they saw that he was right. Below the was indeed a green glow, and one of them said "Any idea what that is?" Nobody answered, as they all had no idea. The same person who spotted it said "I'm going to go take a look. Everyone looked at him like he was a crazy man. Another one of them said "Are you crazy? Who knows what could be down there. Crocodiles, Alligators, Snakes, and you might even drown. And non of those are even addressing whatever that thing is." The moment after he said that the man jumped into the water with a net, and the same person muttered "Of course Dyonis would do that."

Five seconds later Dyonis saw what it was, a large glowing green stone slightly bigger than his head. He had no idea what this thing is, but it's definitely no pearl. He barely managed to get it inside the net, and he swam back to the surface with four ropes connected to the net. When he got to the surface and gasped for air he said "I saw something down there, and it's definitely not anything I've ever seen before." As he was pulled into the boat he said "I'm going to need your help with this, i barely managed to get the thing inside the net." Whether they thought he was stupid, crazy, or both varied between each of them, but if it's something valuable than this is something that they won't be missing out on. Thirty seconds later they managed to pull it out f the water and onto the boat, and they were stunned by what they saw.

Non of them even asked what it was as it was clear that non of them had the answer to that, and ten seconds later one of them said "Hey Dyonis, you have a son, six years old, right?" Dyonis said "Yeah, little Azrael." The same man said "Well, i think you just found a way to get the kid along with the rest of us fed."

* * *

End Chapter


	5. Chapter 4 A Trail Of Dust

As soon as the four men came back from their search, news quickly spread throughout the village of Dyonis's discovery. Everyone who heard of it wanted to get a look at the 'green rock'. Despite the popularity it quickly brought them, Dyonis couldn't help but feel... Uneasy around the thing. Just by looking at it, he could tell that there was something that was just _wrong_ about it. Like it's not even supposed to exist. At first he was grateful at how much approval it got him, but now?... He just wanted to sell the thing off and get as far away from it as quickly as possible. There's probably someone in Rohan, Gondor, or perhaps even Arnor whom it might manage to catch the eye of, preferably someone very wealthy, and _VERY_ far away. Currently the rain had stopped with a crowd gathered around their dual horse drawn carriage.

He was delivering it to the town mayor when he saw a familiar face trying to get a good view. Little Azriel. Of course the boy would try to find his father the moment he came back. Right now the three who found the rock with him were in the back, making sure the rock was holding still. Dyonis looked back at them and said "Take the reigns, i have to go see someone." Before they could ask who he jumped off and into the crowd and in ten seconds reached his child and hugged him. Like anyone else from Rohan, Azriel had blond hair and possessed blue eyes, with him being barely three and a half feet tall. Dyonis heard "I missed you daddy." from his child, which he answered with a smile and said "I was only gone for a few hours." He said "Where is your mother?" Azriel said "Mommy's home making food, will you be back soon?"

He kept his smile on and said "Don't worry little Azriel, i will be." He kissed his child on the forehead and ran back to the carriage, which by that point was quite a ways ahead of him. If foreigners were to ever visit for whatever reason, some might perhaps notice that the various buildings of the village are all made from wood and straw, and the closest thing that the village has to walls are a wooden palisade surrounding the village on all sides that isn't connected to the Anduin river which it was built along the side of. The only way to get out of the settlement would be via the Anduin or one of three gates, with one pointing north, another west, and another south. And as for soldiers, well... All that they are is a handful of soldiers from Rohan, with the majority of defenders being poorly equipped militia.

Honestly, the only reason that they haven't been destroyed by an Orc warband was likely because non thought that any would be insane enough to settle in such a place. Or perhaps some do know and decided it would be more entertaining watching them all slowly die from diseases. Either way, they haven't seen any since they've arrived. The governor's palace was much larger than any other building in the settlement, but unlike the other buildings was made completely of wood, and consisted of three smaller wooden box shaped sections connected to a much larger tower like section, with the entrance section being rectangular in shape with wooden double doors. It is from here that Governor Galodin conducted his management of the settlement and gone about his day to day life.

He's not that well known outside of town, known likely only by family members and old friends. Considered to be a good man by a lot of townsfolk, if a bit paranoid. Mostly about Orcs and possible attacks by them from west out of the Misty Mountains. He's always felt it was too close for comfort. And while he might see the potential value in the green rock, seeing as how the settlement is struggling, he'll likely suspect potential Orc involvement in some way. The problem is that by the time he makes a decision, it may be too late to stop a potential famine. And by the time that they actually manage to sell it off, riots might have already begun to start. When they arrived at the palace they found ten guards waiting outside, these being the only soldiers from sent from Rohan, and are considered by Galodin to be his guards.

When they cart stopped, one of them walked in front of it and said "Hold there, we are to take possession of this green stone that you have and present it to Governor Galodin, your work ends here. Dyonis said "So we don't even have the privilege to see our leader, even after hauling this thing all the way here?" The guard simply said "Stand aside." Behind the guards a deep voice said "Calm down men." They moved out of the way and their in sight stood Galodin. A man of average height, blue eyes, long blond hair and a thick beard. His physique was difficult to judge at the moment due to him being clothed in thick green and gold colored robes. As usual he had his hands behind his back, and was slightly hunched down and had a smile on, the last one likely for the crowd.

The hunch was probably due to his age catching up to him, as he had a few strands of grey in his hair. He then said "There's no need to say such things." He then looked at the crowd and said "Well then, bring it in." Before handling it they chose to wrap the green stone in thick cloth, partly in case of it falling that the cloth might manage to cushion the impact, and also because some of them really didn't want to look at it or touch it any longer. They were accompanied by the guards as they went inside, and once inside they saw that the main hall had a rectangular shape with two doors at the center of both sides. And between the center of the room and them are thick wooden pillars which held up the building, and attached to the pillars are lit metal torches held in place by what appeared to be two feet long wooden cylinders.

At the center of them room is a hearth flanked by wooden long-tables, and at the end is an elaborate wooden throne with armrests. Galodin sat upon the throne and watched as the green stone was unwrapped. And it was he stared at it for a few moments and then said "Where did you find this?" Dyonis said "I found it out in the swamps, a few miles out." Galodin said "And you saw nobody out there aside from your group?" Dyonis said "No, i didn't. Nothing but animals." Galodin slumped into his chair, eyes closed and deep in thought. Ten seconds later he said "I want this thing isolated until we find out what risks it might bring. We can never be too careful." Dyonis said "We should sell this thing off and just be rid of it. We could gain a large amount of wealth from it."

Galodin sat up, opened his eyes, and said "And what if some danger might be found from it? What damage could it do? For all we know the thing might cause those around it to catch some sort of disease. And what happens if the source is traced back here? What then?" Dyonis sighed and then said "You seriously aren't bringing Orcs into this, are you?" Galodin said "Yes, i am bringing Orcs into this." Dyonis said "Governor, we're who knows how many miles from the Misty Mountains, if there were a band of Orcs coming our way than surely the Stoors would tell us about it. And i'm certain that the marshes make an effective barrier." Galodin bent forward and said "And what if you're wrong?" Dyonis said sarcastically "Than everyone is free to beat me to death and hang my corpse from a tree with rope and by the throat."

Galodin then said in a similar tone "If Orcs invade than i'll take that offer into consideration. You may leave now." As Dyonis began to walk out Galodin said "Just remember that if that thing is sold off and contains some sort of disease, than the punishment for misjudgment will be on both of our heads." Dyonis continued to walk and replied with "I'll remember that then."

* * *

Elsewhere

* * *

While that was going on, Zeshulk and his merry band of backstabbing murderers were trecking through the swamps. They gave up trying to search for a Skaven stronghold and began to search for a place which they could clear out and grow their power from. They were all in an irritable mood, as they spent far more time out in the open, exposed to the sky, sun beating down on them than any of them ever had before. They didn't care if they had to invade a man-thing settlement and kill everyone there. They just want to get out of their current situation. Secrecy be damned. Zeshulk was currently at the front, if anyone was going to have the credit for spotting a camp or settlement to loot and pillage, it would be him. Not that the others truly had the masterful eyesight to spot such a thing anyway.

But all that they had encountered so far are wildlife, nothing truly interesting to those aside from whatever rats from Clan Moulder were with them. But even they would likely find such creatures to be mundane and uninteresting. Instead of building boats the Skaven instead walked through whatever small pieces of land that there was and the waters shallows, due to not having the patience to build any boats. Several hours into their search Zeshulk spotted a few green glowing dots in the water. And he knew for certain that it wasn't pieces of moss or algae. He then ran from the piece of land that he was on and into the water, and when he got to where it was he was chest deep. And what he saw there was what he thought it was, he knows Warpstone dust when he sees it. And here there is a trail of it.

Well, not a trail per say, but enough Warpstone dust came off of it that he would be able to determine the direction of where it had gone. And judging by the amount, it was quite a large chunk indeed. Clearly, whomever had taken it didn't know how to properly handle Warpstone. So the person is dead, a mutant, or just outright lucky. Either way he's determined to get his paws on it.

* * *

What is placed here is a message for everyone. I don't exactly know where to place this fic in the Middle Earth timeline, but a part of me wants to place it during the Second Age or at the least very early Third Age. At least quite a while before the events of The Hobbit. Some time before the war of the Dwarves and Orcs maybe? I don't know. I will maybe let you all decide when it should take place, but i can tell you all that Moria will be getting involved soon.


	6. Chapter 5 Fire And Blood

After what had happened with Galodin, Dyonis proceeded to head strait to his families home. Whether or not Galodin will see reason and sell the stone quickly enough so that food may be imported from other parts of Middle-Earth, he isn't sure. For now he can only hope that it happens before the locals become more frustrated with their living conditions. Other sources of food besides from fellow Men have been explored, the Dwarves have been ignored as the Blue Mountains are too far away, as are the Iron Hills. And as for Khazad-dûm, well turns out that the swamps works vice versa as a barrier, as working out a supply rout through it would be a logistical nightmare. Plus large amounts of Orc activity has been seen around it.

They don't doubt it's defenses if it would come under attack, but supply caravans to and from it are another story entirely. The Elves have been ruled out also, Rivendell is too far away for it to be considered as an option. The halls of Thranduil are too far away as well, and travelling to and from it is just too dangerous, due to the possibility of an attack by the Spiders of the forest. Lórien is close enough, and the only danger presented are the Swamps, so it should be the logical conclusion. 'Should' being the key word, as many people distrust the Elves of Lórien, as they had heard stories from Dwarves that the Elves of Lórien are ruled over by a Witch, and whomever looks at her falls under her control and are never seen again.

Not only that but Elves in general tend to be solitary, so trade agreements are unlikely to occur. especially given the amount of resources they had to expend recently to attack the Orcs in Mordor, along with assistance from Gondor and Arnor. Something which resulted in the deaths of Gil-galad and Elendil, along with many other great heroes, generals, and leaders. Although he keeps telling himself that the surrounding swamps forms an effective barrier, he is beginning to have his doubts, especially given the disappearance of Isildur himself but five years ago, which had occurred mere months after the villages founding, even though he was supposed to have come by. It's not every day that gondorian royalty suddenly disappears along with his bodyguards and an army detachment.

Rubbing his right hand against his face, Dyonis wondered that with these conditions if the settlement would truly last through the next winter. He soon arrived at his families home, and when he started to approach it, out came Azrael, running out to him. And for a brief moment, he forgot about all of the troubles that have been going on recently. He then saw his wife, Anarasia. A person whom is only slightly shorter than he, with black hair and brown eyes. The two had met a decade ago, and who comes from Gondor like him. She had given birth to Azrael three months before they had gone north from the lands controlled by Gondor, hoping to escape from the lands devastated by the Orcs that came out from Mordor. if they knew what awaited them, they would have gone to Arnor instead.

The reason they don't right now is because they don't have the money to afford it, they could if they had given Azriel over to an orphanage to be raised there and hopefully adopted, but they aren't those kinds of parents. He knelt down to Azrael and said "Azrael, go play with your friends. Mommy and Daddy need to talk." As soon as he ran out of sight Anarasia said to him "So, did he agree to sell it?" Dyonis said "No, he didn't. He's still very stubborn." She said in a frustrated tone "That damn fool will starve us all to death before he gets over his paranoia." Dyonis said "Yes. I know. But people shouldn't be so hard on him, he's trying his best despite everything." Anarasia tilted her and crossed arms before saying "But what if even that is not enough? His paranoia is dragging this village down."

Dyonis sighed, he wanted to argue but a part of him knew that she was right, as at this rate it's only a matter of time before people start becoming even more frustrated with the situation. He sighed before Anarasia said "Come on then, let's get inside. It's probably going to rain soon judging by the clouds." Little did they know that a storm was quickly coming, but not in the way that they were at all thinking.

* * *

Nearby

* * *

Zeshulk and his followers were meanwhile travelling through the swampland, and facing few problems. Zeshulk himself took pains to ensure that he didn't fall into much water, not that he was afraid of it, as he was quite capable of swimming (Read: Flailing around until he finds a large rock), it was just that he didn't like the idea of being stuck with something that he can't see in some pond, it always gets to him when he feels something slimy touch the bottom feet briefly whilst having his head above water. He preferred keeping his feet on the ground, so as to why Clan Skurvy could even stand being on their boats all the time was honestly beyond him. Especially when seasickness gets involved.

So far they had followed the Warpstone dust trail and had found nothing, and with them stopping only to get some Clan Pestilens Plague Monks to stop masturbating to the sight of the rotting carcasses of dead fish and instead keep moving. He doesn't need that sight getting stuck in his head. He hadn't found much in the way of actual enemies to beat into submission and torture, just wild animals to eat whenever he gets hungry. And while the rest of them seem to be fairing averagely in this environment, the Plague Monks seem to be thriving, appearing to not even be affected by whatever diseases may be held here, and don't seem to mind the mosquito's.

However, the other Skaven were still resistant to disease due to spending much of their lives in diseased environments. So they survived where other surface dwellers might have been forced to turn back. It was after many hours of trekking through the swampland's that Zeshulk saw a silhouette in the distance, and through the mist. It looked like a simple wooden palisade, similar to the many others that Zeshulk had seen in his life surrounding many Empire and Bretonnian villages. He smiled at the thought of finally having living creatures to amuse himself with, and also finally having something other than his own kind to eat. They don't have enough meat and don't taste as good as cooked man-thing flesh.

* * *

Within the village, the sun was still high in the sky, but non could tell where it exactly was due to the thick rain clouds. It had started to rain but a minute ago, which a guard stationed on the northern gate was annoyed about, but thankfully there was a roof above the gate to keep those at it dry. At the sides of the gate were stairs which led to a walkway above it, from which someone could look at the surrounding area, with a bell at the right side of it to alert the surrounding area in case of intruders. As of now the guard had sorely wished he hadn't drunken as much ale as he had last night at the tavern, as it had given him a serious headache. With him was only one other guard, with whom he has been guarding the gate with for the past several hours.

Whilst looking out yet again at the surrounding area from atop the walkway, he said to the other guard "What time is it? I would really like to know how much longer till our shift is over." The other guard said "How am I supposed to know? I can't pull the answer to the time of day out of my arse." He sighed, and after a few moments he thought he heard what sounded like gagging next to him, resulting in him saying "What? Breathed in some dust or something?" And he looked over to the right of him see what looked to him like the corpse of his fellow guard, with a giant bipedal rat standing above it and looking right at him with glowing red eyes. He said "I really need to drink less often."

In what appeared to be a blur his throat was suddenly cut open and he was on the ground gasping for breath whilst choking on his own blood. The last thing he knew was the sight of green glowing daggers stabbing into his eyes.

* * *

After the rain had started, Azrael had quickly returned to his families home. The inside of it was a modest thing, two rooms, a single entrance with a rack at the right side to hang a few coats from, with the entrance leading into a dinning room, which had a square table in the center with four chairs on each side, with the fourth being there in case of visitors. A small shack compared to what the people in Gondor had. to find what little food and drinks could be found being prepared for dinner, which he was thankful for. It wasn't often that he and his family could eat. He quickly approached his father and said "Daddy." Dyonis said "Yes, Azrael?" Azrael then said "I know about the rock. Does it mean we'll get more food soon?"

He heard his father sigh and say "I don't know little Azrael, but I hope so." They were each seated at the table when they heard a sound coming from outside. Dyonis said "Is that what i think i'm hearing?" It was then that something crashed through the ceiling and onto the table in front of them, but didn't go through the table, as if it had simply been standing on the roof instead of being launched into it. They all collapsed from their chairs and saw as the creature stood up that it appeared to by a giant bipedal rat, covered in cloth, and bits of red armor with black markings. As soon as it stood up it immediately lunged at Anarasia, with a sword in hand, with all that they have being knives and forks. The ratman clawed at her, but didn't stab her as it couldn't aim it's sword.

Moments later it stopped moving and collapsed on Anarasia, with a knife and fork both lodged into the back of it's head and Dyonis empty handed and standing over it. They moved it off of her and saw Azrael hiding behind the right side of the door frame to his bedroom. Dyonis sighed in relief that nobody was hurt and went forward and picked Azrael up. They then went outside to see what was going on, and they heard what they thought they did, screaming. Smoke and fire was coming the outer parts of the town, with people appearing to be running as fast as they can with their loved ones and what belongings they can carry to either the docks to escape or to Galodin's palace to seek safety there.

Dyonis then handed Azrael to Anarasia and said to her "Head to the docks and get out of here, i'll be there soon. I'm going to try and find Galodin." He ran all the way there, going through crowds of people, and he arrived at the palace to see a large crowd of people trying to get in, and with Galodin and his guards at the entrance trying to calm the crowd down. Dyonis forced his way to the front and as soon as he was. he yelled over the sounds of the crowd "GALODIN!" He turned to Dyonis's direction, recognizing his voice and approached him. He then said "Dyonis, i know what your going to ask, and i don't have a clue as to what exactly is going on." Dyonis said "You have no idea as to what's going on?"

Galodin shook his head and said "All that i know is that a bunch of ratmen is attacking the town. I laughed when i first heard my guards tell it to me, but then one of them pulled a head out of a sack and dropped it onto the floor." He then backed up onto the top of the steps and said "EVERYONE LISTEN! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE THAN HEAD AS FAST AS YOU CAN TOWARDS THE DOCKS AND GET OUT OF HERE! DON'T TRY TO GO BACK TO YOUR HOMES TO HIDE OR GATHER MORE OF YOUR BELONGINGS AS YOUR SAFETY CAN'T BE GUARANTEED!" They then started to head towards the docks, and it was then that they heard what sounded like yelling behind them, and they saw a horde of the ratmen charging towards them. They started running faster.

Galodin then approached Dyonis and put his right hand on Dyonis's left shoulder and said "Head to Gondor with these people and warn them of what has happened here." He then removed his hand and pulled a sword out from his robes and said "Me and those that will stay will try to give you all as much time as we can. May Eru be with you all." The last Dyonis saw of Galodin was him and his guards charging towards the horde. The man may have been paranoid, but Dyonis was now convinced with this that he honestly cared about these people.

* * *

Anarasia and Azrael ran faster than they ever had in their lives towards the docks, whilst doing what they could to avoid the ratmen. At one point Azrael collapsed onto the ground, unable to run any further out of exhaustion. Anarasia picked him him and held onto he as she ran, saying "Come on, just a little farther. We can't give up now." They were but a minute from the docks when they had to run through an alleyway. Whilst they were halfway through it, one of the ratmen had jumped onto them from above and started clawing at them. In mere moments Anarasia had already kicked the ratman off, and Azrael gathered up what energy he had left and ran past it. He tripped and fell onto the ground, and the ratman had lunged at him as soon as it had gotten back up.

How fortunate that Azrael was that a haystack with a pitchfork in it was next to him. He grabbed it as fast as he could and held it between him and the ratman. It couldn't stop it's momentum, and moments later it had impaled itself by the throat onto the center spike of the pitchfork, with drops of it's black blood dripping onto Azrael's face. He couldn't hold both up and the pitchfork and corpse both collapsed onto him. When she ran over to him, Anarasia rolled the body off of Azrael and picked him up, and grabbed the pitchfork to use for self defense and held it against the parts of his back which hadn't been scratched by the ratman. They turned around the corner and saw the docks, with it being a short distance away and already with people on the boats.

She smiled and started to cry tears of joy, believing that they were actually going to get out of this alive. They were about to get onto the planks composing the docks when something large, heavy, and covered in metal slammed into the left side of them. They looked at what had hit them and saw that it was one of the ratmen, but this one was unlike the others. It had red eyes and ratlike features and is bipedal, but it also possesses black fur, is covered in plate armor which is colored red with black markings, and has a red kilt with it breaking at the front which is instead covered in a chain-mail loincloth. It held an ax in it's left hand and a sword in it's right hand. And on it's back are spikes with skulls at the tips belonging to many species that they could and couldn't recognize.

What happened next is something which would echo throughout Middle-Earth's history. Anarasia and Azrael quickly stood up, and Azrael hid behind his mother, whilst she grabbed the pitchfork and held it towards the ratman. She then said "Head to the boats Azrael, mommy will be right behind you. She was lying and she knew it. She knew that she was about to die. The ratman seemed to raise an eyebrow at her, as if amused that she was challenging it. It then walked towards her, as if certain that she couldn't even pose anything remotely similar to a threat. She tried to stab it in the chest, only for it to bounce harmlessly off the armor. It then smacked it aside with it's sword and with a speed that one wouldn't expect of it backhanded her, knocking her to the ground.

She looked up and smiled as she saw Azrael on a boat far away from them which was about to sail off and started truly crying. She then heard the sound of of something being knocked to the ground and looked behind her to see that Dyonis had rammed into the ratman and started to punch it as fast and hard as he could, with the fall being stopped by the spikes and skulls. The ratman kicked him away and knocking him into the ground, but before it could attack him, it squealed in pain as Anarasia stabbed it where it's leg met the rest of it's body with the pitchfork. But it then it her on the side of the head with the flat side of it's sword and she fell to the ground, and struggled to remain conscious.

Dyonis had attempted to ram into it but it had punched him hard enough across the jaw that a cracking sound was heard and he fell on his front and next to Anarasia. He rolled onto his back and tried to get up, but screamed as the ratmans ax bit into his left leg and was kicked in the face. Anarasia tried to get up but she was lifted up by the throat by the ratman, and it then stomped it's left foot down onto Dyonis's throat, and stabbed it's sword into Anarasia's belly and started twisting it. Neither could scream due to the pressure being put onto their necks. And she breathed her last breath as the ratman crushed her throat, and Dyonis died shortly after from suffocation. And the last thing he saw was the boat Azrael was on and those other people sailing to safety.

Azrael saw his parents die that day. He saw which ratman kill them. He saw everything. And for the first time in his life he felt truly alone and helpless. And ignored what comfort those around him gave as he curled up and cried. As for now, that was all that he could do.

* * *

On the villages shore, Zeshulk felt truly enraged that a man thing and a breeder took as long as it did for him to kill. What did they possess that he didn't? Surely he is the greatest fighter and duelist in the world, and infinitely superior to any mere man-thing? It didn't matter though, he was superior to any pathetic man-thing, and no Skaven was around to see that. What was left now was to find out just where in the Horned Rat's name he was. Perhaps the den of the leader of these man-things may provide an answer?

* * *

And with that this chapter is done. I'd like to have a person to help me with this story, but i'm fairly certain that it would end horribly in one way or another. Anyway, that is all for now and goodbye.


	7. Chapter 6 Hide And Seek

By the time that the Skaven were finished with the riverside village, there wasn't that much left. Many of the buildings had been torched, with which the ratmen used to cook the flesh of the man-things that were slain. As for those who ate without the involvement of fire, they tended to be members of Clan Pestilens. As many Skaven from other Clans tended to have a disliking towards parasites. Zeshulk came across many instances of this as he gone to where he thinks the nest-burrow of the Man-things leader lived. As he gone through the remains of the village, he saw numerous Skaven throwing both corpses and living man-things into fires. Many of the living had been left behind, due to not managing to reach the boats fast enough. Some of them were old and decrepit, but many others were also young. Seeming to be but weeks or months old.

But they were often the pulled out as soon as they died, as the tenderness of their flesh was well liked among the ratmen, especially those of noble birth. Zeshulk eventually found what he believes the man-thing leaders nest-burrow to be, likely because it is much bigger than everything around it. It's doors were busted in, and he could smell musk of his own kind inside. The building wasn't on fire though, as stone was found to be harder to set fire to than wood. When he entered he saw other Skaven taking whatever looks to be valuable, which was most of the stuff inside considering not many things seemed to be bolted down. But he personally wasn't here to loot and pillage everything in sight, he was here for an object far more useful for the current situation. And he quite conveniently found it once he entered the room on the to his left.

In it he saw a chandelier hanging from above, weapons and armor covering the walls, and a table in the center surrounded by tables, and in one of the corners of the room appears to be a circular object covered in brown rags. And on it is a map. And when he saw what left him mildly confused to say the least. He didn't recognize any part of the world on it. It certainly isn't any place in Bretonnia, which has a similar technological level to the man-things of this particular village. He'll need someone to confirm this as not being just some hoax. He turned his head towards the exit to the room and yelled out "CLAN RATS!" and a few moments later three appeared there. One of them said "Yes-yes, what is it that you wish-desire most great-powerful of masters." Zeshulk said "Go find-bring me a man-thing. Now-now."

* * *

Today was not how Valiandris had hoped it would go down. She had expected yet another simple day, being a Thirty year old wife to the village blacksmith, and working as a tailoress, and a mother to a son and daughter, both twins and five years old. Only for a glowing green stone to show up, with everyone hoping to sell it off for a high price. And then a bastard crossbreed of Orcs and rats showed up during rainfall and burnt the whole village to the ground. She was currently hiding beneath a pile of corpses, many of which she recognized, the faces of men, women, and children filled with fear as they understood that they were about to die.

She only shut her eyes and relied on her hearing to know whether or not those monsters were near, whilst trying her best to ignore the stench that surrounded her. She doesn't know where her family was, as she lost them in the crowd at the Town Center, she only hoped they made it before the boats left. After what seemed to be an hour of waiting, the only noises that was left was the rainfall. Valiandris moved her hand up, moving what looked to be an arm out of her line of sight. She didn't see any of the beasts. Trying her best to ignore the pressure of the bodies piled on top of her, she moved her body forward and once her head was free, she looked at the area around her.

Although it was currently difficult to see due to the area being covered in thick mist, she did however know that she was currently outdoors, but still within the confines of the village. She soon managed to crawl out of the corpse pile and fell into the mud covering the ground. She ran as fast as she could towards the nearest building to get out of sight, and as soon as she came inside, she hid behind the wall to the side of her. Scanning the room, she saw that it seemed to be completely empty of life. Of the rooms that were beyond this point, she couldn't see as it was too dark inside. She peeked outside and saw that nobody was there. Maybe the beasts moved on from the village or simply all moved to a different part of it. Either way, non of them were here.

Peeking outside, she took note of what buildings not to go inside, with those being ones that had either collapsed for one reason or another and ones that had caught fire, even if the flames weren't being helped by the rainfall. Seeing non of the creatures walking around, she poked her head out into the open and tried to figure out where she was. Then she could find the river and maybe swim across it. And from there try and head south and find a crossing into Gondor. Chances are that she'd freeze to death along the way, especially if she can't get to safety before the coming winter, but her chances of survival are higher with that than with staying here.

Crouching down, she moved out of the building and began heading east. Along the way she saw a consistent image, burning buildings, piles of corpses, and pools of blood. The people here moved north to get away from this, only to end up walking into another incident of it. Over the noise of the rain she heard the sound of chittering, and tried her best to avoid the sight of red eyes in the darkness. She tried to do her best to stay hidden, sneaking from building to building, thinking that by this point many of the buildings had already been picked clean. It was after fifteen minutes that she finally neared the docks, chances are that there isn't any boats left to use, but it's closer than to the other side of the river than any other place nearby.

To get to the docks from where she was she would have to first go through a warehouse, where everything that came to and from the village by the Anduin was stored until ready to be shipped. She soon found a door, but when she tried to open it, the door wouldn't budge. Twisting the doorknob even harder than before, she pushed all of her weight against it. She then heard what sounded like footsteps nearby, and she quickly turned around in the direction she thought it came from. She saw nothing. She then began ramming her right shoulder into the door, and moments later she heard footsteps that were faster paced than before. She turned her head around as fast as she could and looked all around her. And just as before she saw nothing.

She thought _"I'm not going to die now."_ And she moved to the other side of the street she was on. And then she ran forward and rammed into the door. That got it to open. When she was inside she found herself on her knees and looking at the wooden floor. She felt intense pain in her left shoulder, but she couldn't let that stop her now, not when her life is at risk. Valiandris looked around her and found that she couldn't see the other side of the room from where she was due to the wooden crates blocking her view. She didn't work here, so she doesn't know the layout of the building. But perhaps on the other side of it she hoped that she could find a window that she could jump out of. Or perhaps a key around here that could unlock one of the doors.

As she thought about where to go from here, she then heard it. The chittering. She looked up and on top of the many crates are pairs of glowing red eyes. She started to crawl backwards and when she got up and looked behind her she saw the same thing as before. A pair of glowing red eyes.

* * *

Zeshulk reached down and rubbed his upper left thigh, and grunted at the pain. His skin wasn't pierced, but some bruising was obviously left behind. The best he can hope for is for the other Skaven not finding out about this opening and exploit it to kill him and take leadership. Implying they are even smart enough to figure it out of course. He once again eyed the rag covered object in the corner, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't tried to unravel it yet. In fact, aside from passing around the room and looking at the map to try and make sense of it, he hadn't done much. Perhaps the reason he hadn't unraveled the object is because he believed it could be something dangerous? Maybe it's because he's too lazy to do it himself and would rather have someone do it for him?

Either way it leads to the same result. He took the object an began unraveling the rags covering it, and when he finished he seemed to spend an eternity staring at what was in front of him. A Large piece of warpstone. The wheels in Zeshulks mind began turning, as some things just didn't add up. The map which he looked at clearly didn't depict any part of the world that he's familiar with, and as such a place where his species doesn't hold sway. This contradicts how the Under-Empire stretches across the entire world, and there is a piece of warpstone right in front of him. And they can't be in the Realm Of Chaos, as a horde of Daemons hasn't descended upon them. This is so confusing.

Zeshulk's ears pricked up at the sound of something dragging along the floor. It seems the Clan Rats had actually found a man-thing without him having to hold their paws along the way, and of course he was brilliant enough recognize which minions to send out for the job. What he saw being brought before him wasn't exactly what he expected. Zeshulk had seen man-thing breeders plenty of times before, those two things on their chests that can be ripped off to provide a quick snack shows which ones are the breeders... Most of the time anyway. And they had apparently brought one to him. He resisted the erg to face palm. He asked for a man-thing to torture to get information from and they gave his something to stick his cock into. Well, needs must he supposed.

He put his right paw on the back of the man-things head which was facing towards the floor and bent it upwards so he could look her in the eyes. Still alive apparently. He briefly glanced at the two Clan Rats which held her by her arms whom then left the room. Dragging her across the room by her hair, he pushed her to the edge of the table. Zeshulk said "Breeder, what is this-this?" The female looked at him. Was that confusion on her face? He couldn't tell honestly, the only expression on their kinds faces which he could understand was that of either excruciating pain or absolute terror. "Zeshulk started to yell "WHAT IS THIS PLACE-PLACE BREEDER! WHERE-WHERE AM I!"

He saw the Breeders facial expression change to terror. He didn't know whether to be glad that he was getting results already or disappointed that he was getting results already and couldn't start biting chunks out of her flesh with his teeth. She said "You are at the Gladden Fields vermin." The Gladden Fields. He's fairly certain that he's never heard of that, and so he looked at the map and whilst looking at what looked like words on it he realized that he couldn't read the man-things language. After all, why would he need to when he could just get some scribe rat to do it for him? He then realized that he's probably going to have to spend a VERY long time with this breeder. Well, might as well get started.


End file.
